Famous After Death - Ernest Dowson

Ernest Dowson

As talented as he was, with some published success, Ernest was a troubled man. He was very sensitive, which no doubt gave rise to his enormous talent as a poet, but life itself was a struggle.

It's a story we've heard many times before but the two were certainly evident in Ernest. Creativity and Sensitivity.

He died broke and alcoholic in 1900, aged only 32.

As a young man, he was very social and had contributions to literary publications. Despite these minor successes he was not well known. He collaborated on
two unsuccessful novels with Arthur
Moore and worked on a novel of his own, Madame de Viole.

Most of his work in later life was a translator of French literature.

His father died when Ernest was just 26 and his mother committed suicide a year after. Ernest never recovered from these losses.

Romantically he was unsuccessful too. Just looking at this photo, you can see the strain in his tender face.

Oscar Wilde provides a great insight into the type of man Ernest was, as sad as it is;

"Poor wounded wonderful fellow that he was, a tragic reproduction of all tragic poetry, like a symbol, or a scene. I hope bay leaves will be laid on his tomb and rue and myrtle too for he knew what love was."

His most famous poem.

"Vitae Summa Brevis"

They are not long, the weeping and the laughter,

Love and desire and hate;I think they have no portion in us afterWe pass the gate.

Prior to refurbishment.

They are not long, the days of wine and roses:Out of a misty dreamOur path emerges for a while, then closesWithin a dream.

His gravestone was refurbished 110 years after his death, paid for and celebrated by many locals.

Post death fame.

Gone with the Wind, is a line from one of his poems. Margaret Mitchell loved it and used it for her novel.

In the Poems and Prose
of Ernest Dowson, a 1919 memoir by Arthur Symons, Symons stated, "... a man who was undoubtedly a man of genius ... There never
was a poet to whom verse came more naturally ... He had the pure lyric gift,
unweighed or unballasted by any other quality of mind or emotion.."

His legacy continues.

Books

A
comedy of masks : a novel (1893) With Arthur Moore.

Dilemmas,
stories and studies in sentiment (1895)

Verses (1896)

The
Pierrot of the minute : a dramatic phantasy in one act (1897)

Decorations
in Verse and Prose (1899)

Adrian
Rome (1899)
With Arthur Moore.

Posthumous

Cynara :
a little book of verse (1907)

Studies
in sentiment (1915)

The
Poems and Prose of Ernest Dowson, With a Memoir by Arthur Symons (1919)

Debut Poetry Collection

Novella - Fiction

For Your Pleasure

Bio

I grew up in a town of 600, somehow ended up in London and now live in Sydney. Aside from writing, I'm a Television editor and an Aged Care Recreational Officer. I've made short films, music videos and video poetry. Many stories and poems accepted into publications in various countries from the U.S. to Europe to Asia.

Books: a novella, Bottomless River (2012), a poetry collection, Caged Without Walls (2013), a collaboration with an artist, For Your Pleasure (2015) and a short story collection Pseudo Eyes (2017). My best work is my daughter. She's seven.

I've written seven novels (unpublished). In reverse order.

Lone Wolf World: He's not religious or political but is smart, unique and very dangerous.

I feel the Pain of One: A depressed teen inadvertently documents a murder.

Ode to Dead Young Friends: The true story of four young people whose time came too soon.

R.I.P. Rest In Prime: An aging population has placed a burden on society. There's only one solution. Controversial.

Oblivion City and Oblivion Terminus: Is it the end of civilization? A two book Young Adult dystopian nightmare.

Borders of Bordavia: An epic children's fantasy. Think Junior Lord of the Rings.